U.S. Hits Guatemalan Crews Backing Sinaloa and CJNG as Terrorists

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States sanctioned two Guatemalan drug trafficking organizations for supporting the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and, in a concurrent action, designated a third Guatemalan group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the Treasury Department announced.

Read the U.S. Department of the Treasury release: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0689

The announcement was issued by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on November 13, 2026, according to the release.

OFAC sanctioned the Los Mendoza Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) and the Los Huistas DTO, according to the release.

The Department of State is designating Los Lorenzanas as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, in a concurrent action, according to the release.

Strategic Corridors, Border Crossings, and the Sinaloa and CJNG Supply Chain

Based in Guatemala, Los Mendoza DTO and Los Huistas DTO control strategic trafficking corridors along the borders with Honduras and Mexico, making them indispensable logistics partners for the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, according to the release.

The Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG were designated as both FTOs and SDGTs on February 20, 2025, according to the release.

Los Mendoza DTO and Los Huistas DTO facilitate the receipt, storage, protection, and cross-border movement of narcotics destined for the United States and other international markets, according to the release.

Through longstanding alliances spanning Central and South America, the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG have expanded their criminal operations, established sophisticated cross-border trafficking networks, and consolidated control over critical segments of the illicit drug supply chain, according to the release.

By targeting these key facilitators, OFAC is disrupting critical nodes in the supply chains that enable the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other illicit drugs throughout the region, according to the release.

OFAC sanctioned Los Mendoza DTO pursuant to Executive Order 14059 and pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, for providing material support to the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the release.

OFAC sanctioned Los Huistas DTO pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, for providing material support to the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, according to the release.

"Today's action exposes the ties between politically influential Guatemalan criminal organizations and Mexican foreign terrorist organizations that facilitate the flow of deadly narcotics into the United States," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

"Under President Trump's America First agenda, the Treasury Department will continue to target the criminal networks that enable violent organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG to traffic drugs across our borders and threaten the safety of the American people," Bessent said.

Los Mendoza Since the 1980s, Los Huistas Since the 1990s, and Two Different Roles

Founded in the 1980s, Los Mendoza DTO is one of Guatemala's oldest and most powerful criminal organizations, according to the release.

The family-based organization operates as a key transportation and logistics intermediary for the Sinaloa Cartel, facilitating drug trafficking operations across Guatemala and Honduras, according to the release.

Los Mendoza DTO supports the Sinaloa Cartel's trafficking network by facilitating access to border crossings, clandestine airstrips, storage facilities, and local protection networks in the Guatemalan departments of San Marcos, Huehuetenango, and Peten, according to the release.

Beyond narcotics trafficking, Los Mendoza DTO is involved in contract killings and money laundering, and has amassed significant economic interests through land dispossession, cattle ranching, agricultural businesses, and real estate investments across Peten, Izabal, and Guatemala's border region with Mexico, according to the release.

Active since the 1990s, Los Huistas DTO is one of Guatemala's most powerful and longstanding criminal organizations, according to the release.

Los Huistas DTO serves as a critical link in the cocaine trafficking supply chain from South America through Mexico and ultimately into the United States, according to the release.

On March 18, 2022, OFAC designated Los Huistas DTO pursuant to Executive Order 14059, according to the release.

Los Huistas DTO maintains operational ties with both the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, providing logistical support and protection for narcotics shipments, according to the release.

Blocked Property, U.S. Transactions, and What Happens Next

As a result of the action, all property and interests in property of the designated organizations that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC, according to the release.

Any entities owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked, according to the release.

Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within, or transiting, the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons, according to the release.

Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons, and OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis, according to the release.

What happens next is that the designations remain in effect under the sanctions programs described in the release, and OFAC guidance covers the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, according to the release.

Individuals located in the United States or abroad who provide information about sanctions violations to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's whistleblower incentive program may be eligible for awards if the information leads to a successful enforcement action that results in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000, according to the release.

Anyone with information about sanctions violations can contact FinCEN through its whistleblower program, and official updates on this action are published by the Department of the Treasury.

Sources

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, "Treasury Sanctions Guatemalan Drug Trafficking Organizations Supporting Mexican Narco-Terrorist Cartels," November 13, 2026: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0689